Soldiers' stories from Vietnam evoke memories
May 26—If any good came from the Vietnam War, if it taught us anything at all, the lesson was never to blame soldiers for bad political decisions.
Support today for men and women in military service seems higher than ever. The opposite was true during almost a decade of heavy fighting in Vietnam.
Soldiers returning from Southeast Asia received blame for a war authorized in Washington by men two and three times their age.
Many others didn't come home alive. The death count for U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War exceeded 58,000 before the government severed its involvement in 1973.
A total of 395 fallen soldiers were from New Mexico, according to the National Archives. These are a few of their stories.
"Friendly fire," the worst military term ever, took the life of 23-year-old Marine Cpl. Conrad Lerman of Albuquerque. A door gunner on a helicopter, Lerman fell to his death on June 11, 1968, after his aircraft was hobbled by fire from a U.S. howitzer. Two other Marines perished when the helicopter crashed. The Marine Corps for 46 years denied the crew Purple Heart medals, which recognize soldiers who are wounded or killed in action. The Corps reversed itself in 2014, awarding the medals posthumously to the three Marines.
Marine Cpl. Anthony Cass of Artesia was scheduled to return home from Vietnam in spring 1967. His unit went into combat on May 26 in Quang Tin Province. Cass, 20, died on the battlefield from enemy gunfire. His older brother, William Cass, a college student in Salina, Kan., had traveled to Artesia in anticipation of a reunion. He arrived only to learn of his brother's death.
Army Pfc. Raymond Platero of the Cañoncito Reservation was on a military craft heading to shore when it hit a booby trap on Jan. 26, 1970. Platero, 25, and three soldiers from Illinois, Maryland and Kentucky died in the explosion. Platero was survived by his wife, his parents, six brothers and three sisters. Fifty years after his death, the New Mexico Department of Transportation named a bridge at Interstate 40 and Exit 131 in Platero's honor. State Rep. Harry Garcia, D-Grants, himself a Vietnam veteran, requested the designation.
Army 2nd Lt. Jesse Mechem came from a family with a history of service. Mechem of Las Cruces was the son of former New Mexico Gov. Edwin Mechem. Jesse, 25, died in combat on Jan. 26, 1970. He was named after an uncle, Army Lt. Jesse Mechem, who died during fighting in the Philippines in World War II.
The first weeks were especially dangerous for young infantry soldiers shipped to Vietnam. Army Pfc. Luia Rodgers, 20, began his tour of duty Dec. 20, 1967. He died in combat 10 weeks later. Rodgers grew up in Alamogordo, where he graduated from high school in 1965 and attended Corinth Baptist Church.
Pfc. Edward Cabrera, 19, of Gallup died in a land mine explosion June 5, 1967. Cabrera's mother, Esther, told reporters he was in Vietnam for six weeks — long enough to receive but one letter from her.
A land mine explosion killed Army Spc. Rudolph Danny Lovato of Albuquerque on March 20, 1970. He had been in Vietnam for four months. Lovato, 21, was married and the father of two children, ages 1 and 3.
Narciso F. Herrera, usually called Francis, dropped out of Española High School in 1965 to join the Marine Corps. One of his buddies, David Maestas, enlisted with him. The teenagers were from Alcalde. Herrera, a lance corporal, died in combat July 2, 1966. He was 19.
Jimmy Mathis graduated from Jal High School in 1965, got married and joined the Navy. At 22, he was a medical corpsman attached to the Marine Corps. Mathis arrived in Vietnam in the summer of 1967. He died in an explosion four months later, on Nov. 26. His friend from Jal, 20-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Jackie Glen Leisure, would die in combat six months later.
Marine Pfc. Henry Tajeda of Las Vegas, N.M., died in an explosion during combat Oct. 19, 1968. Tejada, 19, was the son of J.J. Tejada, then principal of West Las Vegas High School. The elder Tejada told reporters it was the second battle his son participated in during his 10 weeks in Vietnam.
John Griego graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1963 and joined the Marines two years later, as the U.S. government sent more soldiers to Vietnam. Griego, 21, died in combat Jan. 14, 1967. He was felled by a rifle shot mistakenly fired by a comrade. Griego was survived by his parents and nine siblings. One of his brothers was in the Air Force and another was in the Army.
Phillip J. Sandoval of Santa Fe enlisted in the Army in March 1970. Eleven months later, Pfc. Sandoval was a squad leader in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Grievously wounded in a land mine explosion Feb. 7, 1971, he died two days later. Sandoval would have turned 20 later that week.
His family placed a statement in the newspaper thanking relatives, friends and acquaintances for their help and condolences. When it comes to Vietnam, there are never enough thanks for Phillip Sandoval and his buddies.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.
